On Hiatus This Week...

Monday Moment With Kyle is on hiatus this week.

Enjoy the presidential debate, Monday Night Football and Game 7 of the NLCS.

Until next Monday...

Gospel Music...

My grandmother regularly played gospel music when I was growing up in Newark, New Jersey. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't allow secular music to be played in the house on Sundays. Thus we all grew up listening to any number of gospel greats.

When I became a musician, I refused to listen to gospel. REFUSED IT, REFUSED IT, REFUSED IT!

To me it sounded like these people were screaming and hollering and making unnecessary noise. Nonetheless, I listened to the church choir religiously at Greater Welcome Baptist Church.

I preferred MoTown and jazz...those songs were exciting. More important, these songs caused an almost reflex action in your body that made you want to move.

Last night, I visited the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, NY to see a concert billed as the King's Men Tour, featuring Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp and Israel Houghton.

It was outstanding!

For a person not too keen on gospel, I was amazed at the musicianship and craft displayed by everyone on the stage. For a short moment, I got chills while listening to Sapp sing, "Never Would've Made It."

Simply amazing...and simply astonished that gospel music had changed. This ain't your grandparent's gospel.

This music is challenging, moving, inspiring, motivating and more. Better still, they give recognition to God. After hearing this music, there is no doubt that there is some force that anoints these musicians which such a gift...AND it made me re-think my skills as a musician.

I am humbled by their skill and I have a long way to go. This makes me feel good, because that means there is so much more to learn musically...I intend to learn it.

As stated at the King's Men Tour concert: May the rest of my life be the best days of my life.

Here's to learning and growing!!

Until next Monday....

Tyler Perry

What is with the hate toward Tyler Perry?

This past weekend I noticed several tweets from somewhat reputable people who poked fun at Mr. Perry and his upcoming role as a detective in Alex Cross. It seems that these people take offense to his movies and the Madea character that he created.

By all means, it is fine to criticize and artist and his/her work. But some of these attacks toward Tyler Perry are personal. Some have questioned his talent, business acumen and even his masculinity.

Nonetheless, Mr. Perry has a loyal audience who attends his plays and movies, and simply enjoys the entertainment and positive message that is often presented.

I must admit I didn’t like Tyler Perry productions when I first observed them. I thought they were “low-class.” However, one spring I went to visit relatives in the south and we did dinner and a movie. The movie we saw together, as a family, was a Tyler Perry film. We laughed and laughed and just had a good time.

It was about family…nobody was trying to make sociological discovery or a political statement.

This gets lost in these comments about Tyler Perry.

Additionally, he has taken from his enormous fortune to give back to the community. Not only is he hiring black performers on a regular basis, but also he contributes to society financially…probably more so than any of those people who complain and spread their negativity about the man.

Critics will always be there…but so will supporters. And I for one support Mr. Tyler Perry and applaud him

Until next Monday…

Living Life As It Is...

There is a quote that is often attributed to John Lennon, but I believe that it actually comes from a 1957 comic strip in Readers Digest. It posits, “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

If we were to consider this statement for a moment, we might come to realize that we plan our lives on the basis of expectations. For example, we go to school in order to get great grades. This, in turn, should aid us in getting into the best college, which should therefore lead us to the best jobs with an excellent salary, so that our social lives will improve and put us into circles where we would find a spouse and ultimately build a beautiful family and live happily ever after.

This is what most of us plan.

This is what we expect.

But life happens…and we change.

Yet, as we change, some of us cling to the ideas and notions of who we thought we were and overlook the person we’ve become. Thus we’re unable to live a life that is fulfilling and in the moment and that’s authentic.

In the way, it is important to remind yourself to always push forward and limit the longing for looking back to our expectations or for the “good old days” that never were.

There's a lot to be said about living life as it is instead of how I wish it to be.

Until next Monday...

What the World Needs Now is EMPATHY!

When Hal David died a couple of weeks ago, I found myself listening to a song he wrote with Burt Bacharach called, "What the World Needs Now is Love."

Yes, I agree, the world could always use a little more love, but what we could use a lot more of is empathy.

Just in this country alone, we find ourselves divided between red and blue states; conservatives and liberals; haves and have nots; elites and the common man. It's getting to be re-goddamn-diculous how special interest groups, politicians and the media have created narratives that have pitted people against each other. Instead of critically reflecting on issues of the day and coming together for the sake of each other; we choose to demonize each other without even considering the other person's perspective.

It's disturbing. 

I once wondered if people by nature were mean, or if they were nice. Research has shown that people are neutral...and that may be part of the problem.

Being neutral allows for one to be indifferent. If you're indifferent, you less likely to seek understanding with things which don't concern you or your interests. If you're not seeking understanding, how would you then be able to show empathy?

In other words, it is difficult to show empathy to those who can do nothing for you...but easy to love those who can.

Therefore, that unemployed welfare person needs to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But your loved one who is struggling to make ends meet, is OK with getting a loan from you to carry them over until they're back on their feet...The union that helped your immigrant grandfather get and keep a job, while excluding African Americans was great for the working man, but the the Teacher's Unions of today is ruining your child's education.

Although we will never live in a Kumbaya World, we can do better. A great starting point would be in simply learning to LISTEN!

Until next Monday...

To Stay Home Election Day?

I recently read an article about several Black pastors who have been advising their parishioners not to vote in this year’s election.

My friends, these men and women who call themselves pastors, are not only being treasonous to our country, but they are betraying the legacy of those who risked life and limb for the right to cast a single vote AND they are demonstrating what the Bible describes as false teachers.

Although I'm staunchly behind the idea of the separation of church and state, the Black Church has a unique place in American society when it comes to social justice. Nonetheless, leadership in some congregations seems to be offended by the issue of marriage equality for people within the LGBT community. When the president stated that he supported the right for gay people to marry, many of these people decided that they would not vote for him since he supported "sin." However, they failed to realize that in these Divided States of America, marriage is a civil right with legal and financial consequences. Therefore, whom people choose to love is their business and is an issue outside the realm of religion.

Yes, religion CAN be a factor, but religion does not necessarily HAVE TO BE a factor in order to have a legal marriage in the United States.

Therefore, these pastors are out of line on several fronts in telling their members to stay home and not vote.

First, it is simply none of their business that consenting adults of legal age, in a loving relationship, choose to marry. The U.S.A, (also known as the Divided States of America), is a democracy, not a theocracy. It is a land of laws based on the Constitution...not the Bible.

Second, it would be wonderful if some of these pastors really studied and appreciated the history of the civil rights movement in this country. If they did, they would come across the name of Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man who was an influential adviser to many civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was Rustin, who played a key role in organizing the March On Washington where Dr. King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech.

Third, do these pastors take note of some of the men who sing in their choirs? I've seen and heard more gay men singing and leading the flock in more black churches than I can count.

Lastly, it's simply time that these pastors get off their high self-righteous horses, stop the hypocrisy and get over it. People died for the right to vote, and to tell parishioners NOT to vote is foolish, hypocritical and an affront to real issues affecting the black community and this nation. This is not meek and humble/ This is ARROGANT.  It would be hard for me to imagine Jesus Christ telling people not to exercise their rights to vote with the possibility to make a world a better place for the least of these.

Until next Monday…

Keeping Your Own Counsel

The past year has been a year of losses and lessons -- musings and mistakes.

As social media becomes an integral part of our lives, it’s important to pay attention to how it affects our personhood and us. Despite the advantages of technology, there are still individuals behind the smart phones or computer screens whom very much have a soul. 

We mustn’t forget this. 

I used to post a lot of information about my life, including seeking advice from “friends” on Facebook. In hindsight this was very stupid. When I got together with these people in real life, I would have this awkward feeling and would mentally ask myself: “Why is this person asking me such personal questions? Do they even know me?”

Later still, another Facebook post led to some gossip that set off a chain of events that turned friends into enemies, and enemies into the-worst-people-in-the-world.

Because of this, I now keep my own counsel.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines this as to keep one's thoughts and plans to oneself; to withhold from other people one's thoughts and plans.

Initially this was tough, as I like to tell stories about my life. But as I started withholding, I noticed that I started worrying less and started trusting myself more. I felt OK with making mistakes, which in turn, removed my creative blocks. Finally, I felt like myself again and not the me that I felt I needed to be, in order to put others at ease.

Of course I have a couple of confidantes. But when all is said and done, I will trust my instincts and keep my own counsel.

Today, make it a goal to start keeping your own counsel.

Until next Monday…

Denial Is A Helluva Drug....

I recently came across a website that had an article entitled, "Six Inconvenient Truths About the U.S. and Slavery." The author, Michael Medved, attempts to re-write history by listing six so-called facts that Americans refuse to accept about slavery in America. He posits:

1. SLAVERY WAS AN ANCIENT AND UNIVERSAL INSTITUTION, NOT A DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN INNOVATION.

2. SLAVERY EXISTED ONLY BRIEFLY, AND IN LIMITED LOCALES, IN THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC – INVOLVING ONLY A TINY PERCENTAGE OF THE ANCESTORS OF TODAY’S AMERICANS. 

3. THOUGH BRUTAL, SLAVERY WASN’T GENOCIDAL: LIVE SLAVES WERE VALUABLE BUT DEAD CAPTIVES BROUGHT NO PROFIT.

4. IT’S NOT TRUE THAT THE U.S. BECAME A WEALTHY NATION THROUGH THE ABUSE OF SLAVE LABOR: THE MOST PROSPEROUS STATES IN THE COUNTRY WERE THOSE THAT FIRST FREED THEIR SLAVES.

5. WHILE AMERICA DESERVES NO UNIQUE BLAME FOR THE EXISTENCE OF SLAVERY, THE UNITED STATES MERITS SPECIAL CREDIT FOR ITS RAPID ABOLITION.

6. THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT TODAY’S AFRICAN-AMERICANS WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF THEIR ANCESTORS HAD REMAINED BEHIND IN AFRICA.

Hahahahahaha!!!!

After reading this, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the level of ignorance that exists among a certain segment of society in this country.
 
The first thing that came to mind was that we need to do a better job at teaching the history of slavery in this country. After all, Mr. Medved insists that slavery "only existed briefly...involving a tiny percentage of the ancestors of today's Americans."
 
Where did Mr. Medved get this information? You'd figure that if one is to make this kind of claim, they would have academic resources to support it. But no! Mr. Medved presents none of that and received over 300 "likes" regarding the article, which indicates that there are others who believe these falsehoods.

Nonetheless, this says ALOT about the psyche of some Americans, in that they would rather be oblivious to the terrible truths, instead of facing them and doing the work to ameliorate a situation. To some people, SLAVERY was a long time ago, and blacks should just get over. To others, slavery is not as bad as they portray it in the media.

This is dangerous.

Conversely, more and more blacks, including myself, have walked away from the table when it comes to discussing slavery and racial history in the United States with a certain segment of society. It is pointless to speak and engage in a dialogue with people who will not listen to you, due to their inability to see a perspective beyond their own.

To engage Mr. Medved in a conversation, where you would present him with research and facts would be an exercise in futility. This is what a conversation on racison has become. 

Ultimately, you now have perpetrators of racism calling historical victims of racism, RACISTS! I even saw a commentator on MSNBC say that "real racism is self-evident."

I have learned to walk away from these type of conversations regarding race and inequality, as denial is a helluva drug!

Until next Monday...

Apathy?

I remember a phone call that I got from my aunt nearly 4 year ago in October of 2008. She told me that me grandmother was in the hospital and that her heart was giving out. The doctors gave her about 3 to 5 years to live.

Nonetheless, my grandmother fought hard and believed that she would live to be 100 years old. Unfortunately, she would die on November 26, 2011 at the age of 83.

When my grandmother was in the hospital that October of 2008, she told those doctors that they were going to have to release her so that she could vote for Barack Obama.

And she did it...She got out of the hospital and voted and lived long enough to see a black man elected to the presidency of the United States of America.

I will never forget that. It actually saddens me when I read Facebook posts by young people and others who are apathetic to politics and the right to vote. Do they understand that human beings were beaten and killed simply for wanting to exercise their right to cast a ballot?

What does that say about human nature? Are we really that selfish and narcissistic?

I want to be optimistic...but something tells me that this is wishful thinking.

Until next Monday...

On This Day in 1963...

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

                                                                     ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

                                                                      August 28, 1963

What President Obama Needs To Do...

I like President Barack Obama...We are both black men; He's married to a woman of Gullah descent, (I'm of Gullah descent), and we both share ties to Columbia University.

With that being said, I think the president took too long to realize that some of these Cracker Jacks were unwilling to work with him to get things done. I'm aware of his mixed heritage, and perhaps he wanted to give some of them the benefit of the doubt.  

I, for one, would have changed course in my dealings with an adversarial group after TWO failings.

You screw me twice and it's on! At that point I will use any ethical and legal means to go after you hard, to bring you down.

The president needs to get mean with these folks. So what! if they perceive you as an angry black man...they already probably do! Save your dignity and have some integrity and give them the fight that they deserve.

COMPROMISE??? HELL NO!!

The president has a background in community work and it's understandable that he wants to play along and get along. Politics doesn't work like that. It is brutal...and in this case, there is indeed a racial component.

I've made my contribution to the campaign, and I hope the president is re-elected. Should there be a second term for Obama, I will look for evidence that he has learned from his mistakes and kick it up a notch in terms of fight, assertiveness and meanness.

Things Are Different Now?

"Things are different now."

Those four words are amazing for their almost hypnotic affect on the human psyche. Usually when I hear that phrase from someone, I always respond with the question, "Are things really different, or have things simply been repackaged?"

Change is difficult for people, as we tend to get comfortable with the status quo. Change requires work and feelings of discomfort. Seriously, who would want to change the way things are...especially if things are relatively satisfying.

I like the people who push the envelop to REALLY challenge the status quo. They are the courageous ones...the creative ones.

I wanna be that type of person who never gets comfortable and says, "Things are different now," when things clearly are not.

The point?

Things are NOT different now! You look around you and you can see the same problems and issues from 10 to 20 years ago. For example, look at the attempts of members of a certain political party to disenfranchise many voters with their voter suppression laws. Yes, it is the equivalent of a poll tax to force many people to have a particular state I.D...look back through history and you will discover this same type of scurrilous activity.

Look up the Lily-White Movement...We don't hear much about this, because "Things are different now." But you might discover something that has been happening since Reconstruction and still continues to this day.

Things ARE NOT different now....Things are simply different in the way they are presented.

Until next Monday...

Separation of Church and State

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."~Thomas Jefferson

I like this quote even though I don't agree with Jefferson and his slave-holding legacy. Nonetheless, it sets up a very important doctrine of the US Constitution, which is the separation of church and state.

Sadly I have seen pastors from the Christian denomination take political positions on taxes, as well as to whom we should vote in November. It is one thing if a social issue is at play, but these people just want the current President out of office because he doesn't belong to their political party.

After 3 years in office, these people blame this president for the collapse of the US ECONOMY, despite the fact that it was collapsing years before he entered office.

After 3 years in office, these people fail to acknowledge what this president has done to capture and/or kill threats to U.S. interests,

After 3 years in office, these people FAULT the current president for bringing affordable healthcare to many American people who would have otherwise been without insurance.

The reason these people fault the current president? JESUS!

They refuse to believe the president is a Christian. They refuse to efficiently look back at what was done on the past. The simply refuse to believe...and they do it under the guise of being good Christians.

It is a pathetic attempt to control the political dialogue through religious discussion, and it needs to stop.

What can we do?

Until next Monday, I look forward to your ideas...

Choosing Not To Engage

There is a theory that we are all social animals who should love one another and live in community.

I think that this theory is like seeking a unicorn.

It doesn't exist, nor should we force it to exist.

Recently, some young, white-American terrorist went into a movie theater and killed 12 people while injuring many others during a premiere of a Batman movie. He used an automatic assault weapon! Yet there are many people who are coming out with their regular excuse for gun violence...They say, "People kill people...Guns Don't Kill People."

This is the most ludicrous reasoning I have ever hear...Oh, and not just that, they resort to the "Our Founding Fathers" argument, without any mention of how these founders treated other human beings. They almost make it seem like the Founding Fathers were some sort of divine human beings, and their writings of the U.S. Constitution are perfect.

Usually, these people making this claim are white male Republicans who have benefited from various provisions in the Constitution to help them make money...and nothing but money.

We can say we are a Christian country, but in the end, when you read the fine lines, you will discover that the document that so many consider perfect is about money and maintain white male privilege.

Because many refuse to see this, I have stopped debating the issue and have sought to change minds through teaching critical thinking/reflection and rhetoric. Whether it is the guy on the bus or the student in the classroom, I will always be open for an opportunity to get people to think! They don't necessarily have to agree with me, but they need to challenge their assumptions.

Conversely, I will no longer engage people who are just spouting out information they heard on the Glenn Beck Show or MSNBC, without presenting to me the rationale of their argument.

It's about PEOPLE!

* People who were sadly killed because the gun lobby has a big voice.
* People who were not considered citizens because the "Founding Fathers" considered them 3/5 a person.
* People who are children of God, but who so-called Christians regularly treat horribly.

It's about PEOPLE!

Until next Monday...

Ignorance is Bliss

I missed my Monday deadline to post an entry, so I will be short and say that ignorance is truly bliss.

Sometimes when you don't know anything about a subject or a person, you can truly explore it. On the other hand, if you have an idea about those things or can apply an academic theory, you could possibly be ruined forever.

There are times when I wish I didn't have knowledge about certain people, places or things. Yet, because I do, I'm never fully able to experience them based on the singularity of my own concept. I am influenced by studies, research, and quite possibly other persons.

Today, I encourage everyone, including myself to have a degree of ignorance about things. Perhaps in this way, we can discover something new!

Until next Monday...

Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes

Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today-O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home-
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay-
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again-
The land that never has been yet-
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME-
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath-
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain-
All, all the stretch of these great green states-
And make America again!

Quirks

In a week that saw the passage of the Affordable Care Act and a number of trusted Republican legislators acting like children, I think that I want to write about something that all of have and can relate to: QUIRKS!

Quirks are interesting and can be endearing. However, once they get out of hand they become annoying to others, and it becomes recognized as the price we have to pay for having to live amongst other people.

In my late-teens and into my mid-20s, I had annoyed my mother with my refusal to eat in public spaces. For some reason I became extremely self-conscious and would not eat at restaurants or cafeterias. This was annoying to her since I would often meet with her at her job to have lunch and she would eat her food, but I would keep mine in my bag and take it home in order to be eaten later. We'd have conversation over an meal, but the only one eating was my mother.

Hindsight is truly 20/20.

There is no doubt that other people's thoughts of me were affecting my decisions and this opportunity to enjoy precious time with my mother. As someone who is not thin, I let this create a quirk in my personality, and as a result wasn't living with vigor and purpose.

It is something I regret. Nonetheless, quirks can present a learning opportunity to determine how one will live life on their own terms. Everyday, I challenge a quirk in a proactive way to live fully on my terms and not in response to how I think others may react.

Until next Monday...